Tornado confirmed in Prince George's County after Friday storms

April 22, 2013|By Scott Dance, The Baltimore Sun

A tornado touched down in the Largo area of Prince George's County during storms that passed through the region Friday, the National Weather Service confirmed Monday. Meteorologists had previously confirmed another tornado in Northern Virginia.

The Largo tornado touched down at 7:26 p.m. in the Marlboro Ridge neighborhood, uprooting trees, blowing out windows and garage doors and walls. The tornado traveled about half a mile, lasting less than a minute, according to the weather service.

It had maximum winds of 85 mph, ranking it at the top end of the EF-0 classification of the Enhanced Fujita scale, the lowest level on the scale.

Another tornado touched down in Northern Virginia at 6:36 p.m. Friday in a shopping center in Fredericksburg, Va. It tore off roofing and ventilation system equipment from buildings as it ripped along a nearly mile-long stretch, according to the National Weather Service. The tornado is estimated to have had maximum wind speeds of 90 mph, ranking as an EF-1.

In Maryland, other severe storm damage was limited to the southern region of the state. Treetops were sheared off and entire trees felled, including one onto a house, in Calvert County. Weather spotters recorded wind gusts up to 70 mph in Charles County.

At BWI Marshall Airport, the highest wind gust recorded as the storms passed through was 24 mph. Rainfall totaled 0.62 inches at the airport.